Copenhagen was the first planned extension to my trip, since it was a simple hop to Gothenberg. After adding Hamburg to the trip, the plan was to get to Copenhagen and cross off Bakken and Tivoli in the same day.

First task of the day, train-ferry to Copenhagen.

Literally a train on a ferry

The journey offers pleasant views

This is as artsy as I get

If you like trains or boats (or, like me, you just think this looked really cool), it’s a 5 hour direct journey punctuated by a 45 minute ferry where the train just rolls onto the boat and gets off the other side. Book in advance for cheap prices.

(Update: as of 2020, the ferry no longer runs and trains between Hamburg and Copenhagen travel via the mainland)

First stop, another Generator hostel. After mentioning to the British guy manning the front desk that I was here for theme parks, he told me that he used to work for Oakwood. Small world!

After a naff pizza slice from a 7-11 (which are everywhere in Copenhagen), a quick train to Klampenborg took me to stop number one: Bakken.

The oldest theme park in the world

Bakken is a small park with a very traditional feel. Like most city parks, everything’s packed in together. You’ve got all of the usual games stalls, arcades and shops, but it feels much more inclusive than somewhere like Blackpool. On one corner, you have a couple of thrill rides, but next to it, you’d have a beer house with a live Danish crooner providing a backdrop to some ballroom dancing. You’d never get anything like this in a UK theme park:

There was a barber, a restaurant and lots of people dressed in posh clothes

So, a quick blast through the rides:

Tornado: A surprisingly painful and violent Intamin spinning coaster. Intamin’s OTSRs gave me a neck injury that put a downer on the rest of the day (and according to others I’ve spoken to, I’m not the only one)

Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow

Rutschebanen: The worse of the two Rutschebanens. It’s the sort of coaster that gives people the impression that all old woodies are rickety and uncomfortable (and opened in 1932, it’s not even the older of the two). I may have also been put in a bad mood from Tornado

Rutschebanen is Danish for uncomfortable

Mine Train Ulven: Best surprise for me. It’s a good long circuit with plenty of scenery interaction, greenery, twists, turns and even a little airtime. Fab!

Mine Train Ulven is Danish for Delightful

Good job, but still not making amends for Tornado, Intamin

Wild Mouse: It was OK

Vilde Mus is Danish for mediocre

Racing: 1980s Zierer. It’s not the best. The only noteworthy thing I remember is that the brakes are operated by manual levers, which seems odd for something from the 1980s

This is not a very good ride, so here’s a not very good photo

Apart from the rides, there are, of course, lots of other distractions dotted around. There’s arcades (lots and lots of arcades). I poked my head into one of them to see what they had and OH MY GOD YES

<3 <3

It’s probably best that I only had one 10 Kr coin to spend lest I blow through my life savings. Instead, I stopped to watch a guy play with a parrot.

I like to pretend that this is just a random guy taking his parrot for a walk

Almost time to move on. Back to the mine train, because it was fab. Then a go on the sky fly

Teeny tiny sky fly

I also found a safari themed dark ride shooter: lots of green and not massively interesting. One ice cream later, I decided to move onto Tivoli Gardens.

Tivoli Gardens

Ignore the crane in the background

I felt sorry for Bakken, whose marketing seemed to extend to “guys, we exist too,” but Tivoli blows it out of the water on most counts. I’d describe Tivoli best as “a classy Blackpool Pleasure Beach,” and I wouldn’t be surprised if Blackpool picked up a lot of their ideas from Tivoli Gardens. It’s got all the themed areas, gardens, pretty lighting and 20s Art Deco styling you’d want from such a place.

Instead of heading straight for creds, I decided to take to the star-flyer for a scout-out. Ultra-paranoid Tivoli decided we should all turn out our pockets to make sure we couldn’t drop anything from the ride (though apparently nobody cares that I could easily take off my watch).

First, I crossed off the mine train, Odinexpressen. Not massively exciting as mine trains go, so I moved onto Rutschebanen

Also, very difficult to take good photos of

This brakeman was called James. We like people called James

This is the older of the two Rutschebanens (1914) and it’s brilliant! Lots of airtime and fast turns through the dark. My favourite thing about it is the very quirky character, defined for me by one moment where you navigate a turnaround indoors and an ice cave scene pops up out of nowhere. Clearly classic Blackpool picked up ideas from here.

While I was here, I had a brief go on Minen, a boat/shooter ride themed to a mine. I can’t remember much past the annoying laser sound effects and slightly creepy bear/mole models.

Some light evening jazz

The other side of the park had a B&M, so off to Daemonen. It’s tight and snappy, but nothing to write home about.

Daemonen

Fata Morgana was nearby, so a quick ride was had. It’s a strange ride: it looks absolutely gorgeous, but the reality is a mildly uncomfortable experience where you get whipped round a tower. It would be nice as a “views of Copenhagen” ride if the Star Flyer didn’t do a much better job of that.

As night descended, I headed back to the hostel, after having a wander around the quiet parts of the park.

Copenhagen to Gothenburg

Not much to talk about on the Thursday: I decided to give myself a quiet day, with the whole morning and early afternoon to wander around Copenhagen before moving on to Gothenberg. Pointed my camera at some things that looked touristy.

Copenhagen University

Round Tower (Rundetaarn)

Train, what are you doing, you’re not a car

While looking for things to do, I found out that I’d managed to be in Copenhagen during pride week. So why not head for Rainbow Square! (yes, it’s actually called Rainbow Square, renamed temporarily because Pride)

Fabulous!

There was music, rainbows and food stalls everywhere. Unfortunately quiet during the day. Had I reaslised sooner, I’d have seen what was on the night before and taken Tivoli today. But I did get to hear a naff band playing Common People in Danish and eat some meatballs (heh).

So, after wandering around, eating far too much Danish pastry (highlight was a delicious strawberry tart in the food hall by Nørreport station), and not seeing much of anything, I sat down to wait for my train to Gothenberg.

Europe does a good line in pretty central train stations.

Aside from a passport check change at the airport, it’s a fairly relaxed journey, with pleasant views over the Øresund straight between Denmark and Sweden. I was meeting Ploddish at the station, where we spent a couple of minutes wandering past each other.

For the rest of the night, we were content with wandering around Gothenberg looking at amusing things.

GET OUT OF MY WAY I’M A TRAM

Huh, guess it was in Gothenburg all along

We looked about for affordable food and accidentally ended up in an up-market Italian place. Delicious food, lovingly prepared and with a pleasant atmosphere. Unfortunately, my wallet enjoyed it a little less.

Also in Gothenburg was a culture festival, where some free concerts were taking place.

More of the culture festival in the morning, when the rest of CoasterForce arrives and the group takes on Liseberg.